This invention relates to the art of traps for rats, mice, and other vermin and, more particularly, to a trap using a pressure sensitive adhesive to which the vermin stick upon coming into contact therewith.
Adhesive substances have been used heretofore for trapping vermin, specifically mice, by coating an adhesive substance onto a paper or cardboard backing which is then positioned in or around the runways where the vermin tend to move such that when they come into contact therewith, they are unable to extricate themselves and will either die or may be killed and then disposed of. Heretofore, the adhesive substances used have been either an unhardened glue, a sticky rosin material, or a plastic containing large amounts of a plasticizer. Such materials are characteristically in a semi-liquid state at normal ambient temperatures, preferably from 50.degree. to 100.degree. F. Heretofore, such materials have presented problems due to the fact that often times, for example when the coated paper or cardboard backing is placed in remote places within a building, the temperatures are substantially elevated to a point where the adhesive substance melts and flows onto surrounding surfaces damaging or staining same, sometimes very seriously. Additionally, such materials normally contain oils which can bleed through the paper or cardboard backing onto surrounding surfaces or from a shipping package also causing damage to surrounding areas. In addition, when such materials are heated to higher temperatures, they become less viscous with the result that mice or vermin coming into contact therewith are sometimes able to extricate themselves.